Wagenborg Nedlift Install Bridge Deck on the A2 in Germany – Video and Gallery

It is called an ‘Expressbrücke’ in Germany. Bridges that can be installed or exchanged within a short time with the aid of an accelerated construction method or with pre-assembled bridge sections. This is a godsend because this shortens blockages and traffic nuisance as much as possible. Very nice for the business community and residents of a country where about 4,000 (!) bridges still have to be replaced in the next ten years.

The ‘Kunstwerk van Kamen’ is also such an Expressbrücke and can rightly be called a work of art. The completely new bridge deck for the A2 near Kamen has been pre-built on a nearby construction site to be placed in its entirety. With a weight of 725t and a size of 17m x 19m, certainly not small task.

An excellent job for the Wagenborg Nedlift bridge team.

‘It doesn’t seem too difficult to move and install such a flat deck, but there is still more to it than you think’, says Bart van den Belt, project manager at Wagenborg Nedlift. ‘Such a bridge deck is built approximately 2.5m above ground level but must be placed at a height of more than 5m. This means that first a major jacking operation is required to raise the deck height.’

‘Because of the weight and stability, we deployed a jack system with eight 250t climbing jacks. To get the deck to a height of approximately 5 meters, more than 1,700 jacking beams were needed. We opted for bamboo jack beams because these are very dimensionally stable and strong. Ideal for an operation like this.’

‘Meanwhile, we prepared the SPMT combination of 2 x 16 axle lines to be ready’, Bart continues.

We made a strong support construction on the SPMTs for transporting the bridge deck at the required height. Under this support construction, we positioned the 600-ton jack system. This allowed us to raise the deck another 80 cm to transport the bridge deck into the final position, then lower it again and set it down’, Bart continues.

On the Friday before Pentecost, the bridge deck was at the required height and everything was ready to start the operation . With the help of the SPMTs, ‘Kamen’s Artwork’ was slowly transported to its final position in the A2. By the end of the morning the job was completed, and the new bridge deck was in place.

‘All in all, we supplied more than twenty trucks with equipment to carry out this jacking and transport operation. The team of bridge specialists worked shoulder to shoulder for days. And with result: the entire operation ran like a charm. A great team performance by the Dutch and German Wagenborg colleagues that I, as a project manager, can only be proud of!’ Bart decides.

By the end of July the new A2 lane will be open for traffic, after which the other half of the road will be refurbished.

Bart van den Belt has been working as a project manager at Wagenborg Nedlift since 2018. He is responsible for the preparation and execution of the most diverse lifting and transport projects, such as the exchange of propeller shafts on ships and the (dis)assembly of pilot plants.

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Source Wagenborg Nedlift